Mixologists causing a stir

Posted on 08/05/2019

This month we profile ten of the best, and today it’s the turn of ELLIE RAESIDE of Tonic in Edinburgh and JOHNNY MORRISON of Glasgow’s Blue Dog.

ELLIE RAESIDE Tonic Edinburgh

Ellie, 22, won the William Grant & Sons Bar Apprentice Award at the 2018 Scottish Bar & Pub Awards. At the time she was working at Edinburgh’s Candy Bar but has since moved to the city’s Tonic Bar. Said Ellie, “I fell in love with bartending from my very first job at The Roseburn Bar in Edinburgh which can best be described as a wee old man’s pub.

“Interacting with the customers is definitely one of highlights of the job – as well as being a bit of a challeng sometimes too.”

And it seems that bartending runs in the family.

Explained Ellie, “I learned a lot from, as well as greatly admire, my sister Poppy who has worked in cocktail bars for years. My first manager at The Candy Bar, Neil Bowie, was also a really great support and inspired me to really push myself. He’s now at Malones”

JOHNNY MORRISON Blue Dog Glasgow

Johnny has been working at Blue Dog for four years, as well as running his own cocktail consultancy and events company on the side. At the moment he’s interested in molecular mixology.

He explained, “I’m fascinated with how chemicals and other ingredients can alter the flavour and consistency of the liquid.”

He’s also fresh back from London after winning a cocktail competition organised by Beefeater gin, while Johnny admires an operation a little closer to home and a mixologist a little farther afield. He explained, “I really like what the guys at Glasgow’s Tikki Bar do as well as what a mixologist from the USA, Saeed House (aka Hawk), is doing on social media.”

What does the future hold for Johnny career-wise? “I’d love to have my own bar in Glasgow and I’ve got loads of ideas percolating but that’s about five years or so away from materialising, I’d say.”